Letting a property is usually quicker than selling a property, but it could still take up to 6 months from the moment you make the decision to let out your property to putting it on the market. With our landlord checklist you won’t miss out important details that could slow you down;

Reaching your potential customers

• Consult your estate agent. Call the Property Management team at James Pendleton to get off to the best start: 020 8772 2099
• Try to provide the renters two choices: furnished and unfurnished, so that you can reach the largest number of potential renters
• Be flexible about viewing times. You’ll likely have to be prepared to give up some weekends and evenings to let your potential tenants view the property

Photography

• Your estate agent will be able to send a photographer to your house
• Photos should be bright, clutter-free, curtains open, doors open, and clean. You want to display your property in the best possible light, so make it as attractive as possible

Floor plan

• A floor plan is really helpful for enticing renters to get in touch. Without knowing how the property is laid out, people are unlikely to spend their precious time to come and view it

Inventory List

• This is essentially a list of all the items in the property when it’s let, even down to counting the knives and forks! You can do your own inventory or hire an expert to do one for you, but this will prevent potential headaches down the line and ensure that any accidents or disputes are dealt with fairly and squarely

Landlord Insurance

• Perhaps the most important way to protect yourself as a landlord is to make sure you have the right insurance cover in place. Standard home insurance won’t provide you with all the protection you need, and you may even find that your policy is invalid if you ever need to claim. This is because there are risks that come with renting a property that home insurance policies aren’t designed to cover. Make sure that you have Landlord Insurance that gives you adequate cover should anything happen.

Compliance – Certificates

You’ll need to make sure that you have fulfilled certain legal obligations and that that you have on file all the certificates you require before letting your property out:

• Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
• Gas Safety Certificates
• Electrical Safety Checks
• An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

James Pendleton has a directory of trusted and tried suppliers covering all trades from plumbers, electricians and gas engineers to builders, cleaners and locksmiths

Compliance – others

You must also ensure that the property has the following:

• Smoke Alarms
• Fire Alarms
• Register deposit scheme
• Register as a landlord through the government Renting Out your Property portal
• Right to Rent check. You must check if your tenants have the legal right to rent in the UK. You will need their identity documents from them

Referencing

• One of the easiest and cheapest ways to make sure that your tenant is reliable is to carry out tenant referencing. This tends to involve identity and credit checks, as well as seeking employment details and previous landlord references.

Tenancy Agreement

• Prepare an agreement with your property lawyer.

Rental Deposit

• Collect the deposit and place it into a government approved scheme

 Protect your tenants’ Deposit; you must put their deposit into a government approved scheme, either:

• Deposit Protection Service
• My Deposits
• Tenancy Deposit Scheme

Prepare for your new tenants

• Clean the property. It’s usually best to hire professional cleaners.
• Provide copies of all the certificates, contracts, inventory and documents for your tenants.

It takes around 3-6 weeks from putting your property on the market to having tenants move in, however it could be cut down to three days, depending on how well-prepared you are.

It is best to let your property through an agent because not only do they have the ability to advertise your property on Rightmove and Zoopla, they also have tenant management and property management services. Our angel department will even keep an extra set of keys for your tenants, helping them with everything including dog walking!